The Elements of Harmony: The Next Generation
by DiscordantPrincess
Summary: Discord has returned after one hundred years, but things are completely different; the Mane Six is dead, and their descendents are now the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Can our favorite draconequus deal with the changes since his last return? Rating may change in future chapters.
1. Discord

**Hey, everypony, I'm back!**

**First off, I'd like to thank everyone who read/commented on my first fanfic, "Celestia's Cake." I had no idea you all would like it so much...thank you so much for your wonderful comments and faves!**

**Okey dokey Loki, here's my next MLP:FIM fanfic. It's about Discord (big shocker), and how he copes with living in a new time. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Over one thousand years.

That's how long those pretty little princesses turned him into stone for. Over one thousand years of standing in one place, unable to move, being treated as an ornament in those little witches' (if you replaced the 'w' with a 'b' you'd get how he REALLY felt about them) sculpture garden.

The worst part about it all was, he was completely aware the entire time. He could see the little ponies glaring at him like he was a sideshow freak, he could hear their hateful comments about how ugly he was with his mismatched body parts and how evil he had been for trying to bring his glorious chaos to Equestria. He would have vomited at the whole disgusting ordeal if his digestive system hadn't been petrified by the sisters' spell.

Then, after that long time, a little tiff between three school fillies broke the spell. He was free, free to cause chaos, free to make everypony's lives miserable, just as they had made his for the past millennium plus.

However, his relief was but temporary.

Not too long after he escaped, Twilight Sparkle, the personal student of one of the princesses, and her friends used the Elements of Harmony to set him back in stone. He had tried to prevent this by breaking the ponies' spirits and making them go against the elements they represented, but Twilight had been able to bring them back to their senses.

But this time, his imprisonment was different. The current element bearers' spell had made him completely unaware of anything going on around him. Now, all he knew was nothingness, a big black void. He had no idea where he was, how long he had been there, when he was getting out, IF he was getting out…

* * *

**Yeah, I don't know what'd be worse, being turned to stone and being fully conscious the whole time, or being turned to stone and being completely UNconscious the whole time. What do YOU guys think would be worse?**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon!**


	2. The Return of Chaos

**Hey guys! I know most authors wait a few days to publish their next chapter...but I'm an impatient little pegasister, so I wanted to post the next chap ASAP. Hope you like it!**

It was a quiet morning in the city of Canterlot. Princess Celestia had just raised the sun. In the Canterlot sculpture garden, two young stallions in royal guard armor were patrolling the perimeter. They were also having an argument.

"I'm telling you, man, Superstallion is the coolest super hero ever created," the first stallion told his companion. "He's super strong, he can fly without wings, and he's practically invulnerable."

"No way! Batstallion is one hundred times cooler than Superstallion! He's got all those awesome gadgets, plus his outfit is way cooler than Superstallion's."

"Oh you could not be more wrong if you tried."

"I prefer to think of it as I couldn't be more RIGHT if I tried."

"Superstallion."

"Batstallion."

"Superstallion!"

"Batstallion!"

"SUPERSTALLION!"

"BATSTALLION!"

The two guards were too busy fighting to see which statue they were arguing by; a statue of a draconequus, holding its arms out, a look of pure terror on its face. Neither guard noticed the small cracks forming in the statue, or the eyes glowing yellow and red…

* * *

A few minutes later, Thunderbolt, the captain of the royal guard, wandered into the sculpture garden. Two of his newest guards had gone AWOL, and he was looking for them to make sure that they were all right and to give them a piece of his mind. "Flurry! Tornado! Where are you boys?" Then, he saw the guards' figures in the distance and trotted over to them. "There you boys are! What is the meaning of this, failing to return to base after your shift here? Why I have half a mind to…"

Thunderbolt gasped as he got within a few feet of where the guards were and saw why they hadn't returned to base; both guards were now terra cotta statues. "What the…" Then, Thunderbolt noticed that the pedestal next to where the guards stood was empty. "Oh no."

Just then, there was an evil-sounding chuckle from behind Thunderbolt. He turned around to see the draconequus statue standing behind him, now flesh and blood rather than stone. Thunderbolt's eyes narrowed. "Discord…"

"That's my name, don't wear it out. So what's been new since my last little bout in the stony lonesome?"

Thunderbolt ignored Discord's question. He started to run, but felt himself being levitated. "Ah, ah, ah, not so fast, my little guard pony," Discord responded, using his magic to set Thunderbolt down. "We can't have you running off to warn Princess Celestia about me, can we?" With that, he snapped his fingers. Immediately Thunderbolt felt his legs become hard and heavy. He looked down and screamed. He was being turned into terra cotta himself! He glared at Discord. "You vile beast! You'll never win! Do you hear me? You'll never…" Thunderbolt's last sentence was cut off by his head being turned into terra cotta. He stood as silent and immobile as his guards.

Discord let out a laugh of triumph. "Finally! I'm back! Oh, just think of all the wonderful, glorious chaos I can make!" He hummed as he thought. "But what should my first act of chaos be? Cotton candy clouds raining chocolate milk? Popcorn on the cob? Giant apples? Wait, why are all the ideas I'm coming up with edible?"

Suddenly, his stomach growled, letting him know how hungry he was. Discord chuckled. "THAT'S why. OK, breakfast first, THEN chaos." He looked up at the castle nearby the garden and smiled. "And who better to have breakfast with than my favorite sun princess?"

**Uh-oh, Discord's on the loose! Better grab your upside-down pink umbrellas and watch out for chocolate rain (unless you're Tay Zonday, then you sing a surprisingly catchy song about said flavorful precipitation LOL!)**

**Before anyone says anything, yes I know that on the show Discord said that he doesn't turn ponies into stone...well technically terra cotta isn't stone, so yay, loopholes rock!**

**And I'm ashamed to admit that I just NOW realized the humor of titling my story "The Elements of Harmony: THE NEXT GENERATION." For those of you who know even LESS about Star Trek than do I (if that's even possible), the actor who voices Discord on the show, John de Lancie, is most famous for playing a character named Q on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" who, personality wise, is pretty much Discord humanoid. To be fair, I've never watched a lot of Star Trek of ANY generation. Hell the only reason I know who Q is, is because I watched a bunch of videos on YouTube taking his dialogue and making it look like Discord said it. So yeah, long story short, I'm not a Trekkie and my title was accidental cleverness. **

**Hope you guys like the new chap! Please read and review 'cuz I'm doing this for you! **


	3. Breakfast with the Enemy

**Hey, everypony! Sorry about the delay in uploading this chapter...I had to wait for the inspiration bug to bite. Thank you for your patience, hopefully this is worth the wait!**

Princess Celestia walked into her bedroom. She had just finished her morning bath after raising the sun, and now she was going to get ready for the day. She sat at her vanity, used her unicorn magic to levitate her hairbrush, and started to brush her flowing multi-pastel-colored mane.

"Hello, Tia, long time no see."

Celestia yelped and dropped the brush. She turned around to see the draconequus sitting on her bed. "I must say, I just LOVE what you're doing with your mane," he commented, running his fingers through it. "Are you using a new shampoo?"

"Discord!" she practically spat the name, her tone a mixture of hatred and fear. "How did..."

"How did I escape?" Discord guessed what the sun princess was going to ask. "It seems that a little tiff between two of your royal guards was just enough chaos to break the Elements' spell. I really should have thanked them more."

Celestia peered out the window and nearly screamed when she saw the figures of the three guards in the garden turned to terra cotta. "I thought you said that you didn't use petrification spells!" she accused the chaos spirit.

"No, if you'll remember I said that I don't turn ponies into stone," Discord reminded her. "Terra cotta isn't stone, now is it?"

Celestia panicked. "I have to warn Luna!" She ran for the door, trying to reach her younger sister, but Discord stopped her by gently grabbing her tail. "Why bother sweet little Lulu? She's had a long night raising the moon and guarding everypony, let's let her sleep a while. Besides, it's you I wanted to see."

"What do you want from me, Discord?" Celestia demanded.

"Well, right now, I just want you to sit down and have breakfast with me," Discord responded. "It's the most important meal of the day after all, and I don't know about you, but I really don't want to miss a meal and then spend the rest of the day listening to my tummy rumbling at me."

Celestia smirked a little. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to provide you with food."

"Oh, I don't expect you to, Tia. I plan to provide everything myself." Discord snapped his fingers, and immediately a large table set for two, loaded down with a vast arrangement of breakfast foods, appeared. "See?"

"How can I trust you to feed me?" Celestia asked. "How do I know that it's not all poisoned?"

"Oh come now, Celestia, do you really think I'm THAT stupid?" Discord asked. "Why would I poison food that I plan on eating myself? It's all perfectly harmless." He picked up a blueberry muffin, shoved the whole thing into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. "See? Perfectly...ACK!" He staggered back, clutched his stomach and collapsed onto the floor. Celestia gasped.

Just then, Discord opened his eyes and laughed. "Oh Tia, you should see the look on your face...it is absolutely PRICELESS!" Celestia glared at him, annoyed. "Like I said, the food is HARMLESS. Just try some."

Celestia frowned. She hated to admit it, but the food did look excellent, and she was quite hungry, so she sat down, used her magic to pick a croissant, and nibbled it. "There you go," Discord told her. "Let's dig in!" He sat across from her.

For a while, the two were silent as they ate. After a bit, Celestia spoke up. "You DO know that now that you're loose again, I'll have to contact the bearers of the Elements of Harmony."

"Of course," Discord replied calmly.

"And they'll come find you and fight you, and even if you try to hypnotize them into betraying their Elements they'll just get better and stop you."

"I understand all that perfectly, my dear. And oh, how fun it will be to see those little ponies' faces when I appear in front of them. Especially Twilight's...that crazy little mare." Discord then noticed that Celestia was looking at him blankly. "You know, Twilight Sparkle? The bearer of the Element of Magic? Purple unicorn, about yea big, your personal student?" Celestia's face fell. "What?"

And then, Celestia spoke five words, five simple words, that crashed the draconequus' spirits.

"Discord...Twilight Sparkle is dead."

**WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT? OK, the last line's not really a surprise, seeing as it's in the summary, but still, it'd be pretty jarring to hear I'd bet! **

**OK, it's my personal theory that Discord and Celestia are old ex-lovers (Dislestia is pretty much my favorite MLP pairing), so I tried to put in some subtle Foe Yay hints here or there (Discord stroking Tia's mane, grabbing her tail, teasing her, etc.) Don't be afraid to tell me if I failed epically LOL. **

**Don't worry, Luna fans, she'll be in a later chapter, I love her too much not to include her at all!**

**Again, thanks for your patience! Hope to see you soon for the next chapter!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess.**


	4. Honoring the Dead

**Greetings, bronies and pegasisters! Hope you're ready for the next chapter here!**

Discord practically fainted at what Celestia said. "DEAD? Twilight Sparkle is DEAD?"

"All of the bearers are."

"What? ALL of them? Applejack? Rainbow Dash? Rarity? Fluttershy?" Discord hesitated saying the last name, which came out squeaky. "Pinkie Pie?" Celestia nodded. "But...but...how? When did this happen?"

"It happened quite some time ago," Celestia explained. "They all died of old age."

"How is that possible? They were all young mares the last time I saw them!" Discord frowned. "How long was I in stone?"

"Well, it's hard to figure out the exact amount of time..." Celestia began, but she was interrupted by Discord grabbing her throat, anger burning in his large yellow and red eyes. "HOW LONG WAS I IN STONE?" he demanded.

"Just a little over a hundred years," Celestia gasped. Discord let go of her throat and backed away slowly. "Are you all right?"

"NO I AM NOT ALL RIGHT! YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT I'VE BEEN GONE FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE OUT OF IT FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS?! TO NOT BE ABLE TO THINK, FEEL OR MOVE? TO ONLY SENSE DARKNESS?"

Celestia shuddered. This was the first time she'd ever seen Discord in this mood. He seemed somewhere between furious and despairing. It frightened her to see her usually cheerful and joking foe this way. "I...I'm sorry, Discord."

That small apology seemed to work magic. Immediately the anger left Discord's body, leaving behind nothing but depression. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you. I'll just go now. Thank you for your time." He turned to leave through the window, but looked back for a moment. "Were...were they happy when they died?"

"Very. Each of them had their own families, and each lived long, happy lives and died without suffering."

Discord managed a small smile. "That's good to hear." He flew out the window. Celestia watched him, concerned for him and for her kingdom. After all, if he could turn a whole town upside-down when he was in a good mood, what kind of chaos could he thrust Equestria into when he was in a BAD mood?

* * *

Ponyville Cemetery was a peaceful little graveyard, where many of the town's former citizens were laid to rest. Among the graves, right in a line in the back, were six white marble headstones. Each headstone had the name of a pony, an etched-in picture of her cutie mark, and the Element she was the keeper of:

**Twilight Sparkle - Magic**

**Applejack - Honesty**

**Pinkie Pie - Laughter**

**Fluttershy - Kindness**

**Rainbow Dash - Loyalty**

**Rarity - Generosity**

Discord sighed as he looked upon the graves. Tears streamed down his face. He conjured up six bouquets of flowers and put one on each grave, the flowers' petals the same color of the pony's coat. Twilight Sparkle received purple orchids. Applejack got orange chrysanthemums. For Pinkie Pie, pink carnations. Fluttershy's grave was adorned with yellow daffodils. Rainbow Dash's got blue delphiniums. And for Rarity's grave, white lilies.

The draconequus bowed his head in some sort of reverence for the deceased ponies. Then, he left the graveyard.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Ponyville's public library, a blue-gray unicorn stallion with a black mane and tail with purple streaks, purple eyes and a cutie mark of a flaming star was using his magic to reshelve the historical section of the library. Just then, a young dragon, about as tall as the stallion, with purple scales, green spikes, a pale green underbelly, and green eyes came into the room, carrying a book. "Here you go, Blaze. I found the book you were looking for."

Stellar Blaze smiled as he used his magic to bring the book from the dragon's hand to him. "The Astronomical Astronamer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy, twelfth edition," he read the title. "Thanks, Spike, you really are my number one assistant." Spike let out a sad sigh. "What's wrong?"

"_Number one assistant_," Spike repeated wistfully. "Twilight always used to call me that."

Blaze frowned, trying to figure out what to say. "You know, I never really knew Great-Grandma Twilight. She died when I was just a baby colt. Tell me again what she was like, please, Spike."

Spike smiled. "She was the best...smart, loving, always let me know how much she appreciated me. She had a few quirks, though, like she was deathly afraid of disappointing Princess Celestia. Did I ever tell you about the time she cast the "Want It, Need It" spell on the whole town to fall in love with her old doll, just so she could write her weekly friendship report on time?"

"I thought the "Want It, Need It" spell was illegal to use," Blaze commented.

"All 'cuz of Twilight," Spike snickered. Blaze laughed along with the young dragon.

Just then, Blaze saw the clock. "Quarter till ten? Oh jeez, I promised Esmeralda I'd go over to Carousel Boutique and help her with her new line at ten! I better hurry!" He started for the door. "You wanna come, Spike?"

"No thanks, being at Carousel Boutique would just remind me of Rarity," Spike refused. Blaze smiled. He knew that in his childhood years, the dragon had had a massive crush on Esmeralda's great-grandmother. "OK, buddy, I'll see you later." He headed off.

Spike sighed as he took a framed photograph off of the side table. It was a photo of Twilight and her five friends. A tear came to his eye. He always knew that being a dragon, he would far outlive his pony friends. Even now, after more than a hundred years since his hatching, he was still only the dragon equivalent of a man in his mid-twenties. But it didn't make the pain of losing his friends and the pony who had been like a big sister to him any less. He gently ran his fingers over the picture. "I miss you guys."

**I know it doesn't make sense to have Discord get depressed over the Mane Six's deaths, seeing as they turned him back into stone...but then again, what fun is there in making sense? ****My guess is he's less sad about them dying and more shocked/upset about being encased for over a hundred years without even knowing what's going on and having missed so much. At least in the millenium after Celestia and Luna turned him to stone he was aware the whole time. I don't know, if you try to make sense of Discord, you're going to end up with a splitting headache. **

**Yeah, Spike's still around, and now he's Twilight's great-grandson's number one assistant. And in the next chap, we get to meet the descendants of the rest of the Mane Six. Won't that be fun? **

**Thanks for reading! See you soon!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess.**


	5. The Elements

**Hey, everypony, great to see you all again! Just a heads up, after this chapter I'm going to be taking a short break from FanFiction...I'm going to visit my family for Thanksgiving and won't be back until Sunday. Just didn't want you guys to worry about my sudden disappearance or anything. OK, onto the story...**

The clock read exactly two minutes past ten when Blaze arrived at Carousel Boutique. He looked around and spotted a white unicorn mare with a coiffed dark green mane and tail, green eyes and a cutie mark of an emerald in a hexagon shape, standing by some dress mannequins. "Sorry I'm late, Esme, I got caught up in reshelving."

"Don't worry about it, Blaze darling," Esmeralda reassured him. "You're fashionably late. And besides, you're here before the rest of our friends, so in a manner of speaking you're early."

Just then, the two unicorns heard a shout of "YEE-HAW!" The door burst open, and a tan earth stallion with a shaggy yellow mane and tail, hazel eyes and a cutie mark of a jug galloped in. "Howdy, Blaze, Esme!"

Esmeralda shook her head at Applejack's great-grandson. "You're late, Apple Cider."

"I was busy helpin' Macoun and Jazz bring in the red delicious crop," Apple Cider explained. Macoun Apple was the great-grandson of Applejack's older brother Big Macintosh, and Jazz Apple was the granddaughter of their younger sister Apple Bloom. The three cousins ran Sweet Apple Acres together.

Esmeralda squealed when she saw that Cider's hooves were dirty. "Ew! Wipe your hooves! You're tracking dirt all over my nice clean rug!"

Cider rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine." He went back to the front door and wiped his hooves. "Happy now, Li'l Miss Priss?"

"Happi-ER." Esmeralda sighed. "You know, Cider, you really should let me make you a new hat. The one you're wearing is so old and tattered!"

"Hey, this hat was worn by my Great-Granny Applejack, and I ain't partin' with it for a billion bits!"

The next pony in the door was a bright pink earth mare with a wavy dark brown mane and tail, brown eyes and a cutie mark of a red gumball, running a bit panicked. "Quick, Esme, hide me!"

"What's wrong, Bubble?" Blaze asked. Just then, there was a cry of "BUBBLE GUM!" Pinkie Pie's identically-coated great-granddaughter cowered behind a mannequin just as a light gray pegasus stallion with a spiky rainbow mane and tail, blue eyes and a cutie mark of a rainbow snowflake barged in. The stallion was covered with oatmeal. "Oatmeal?! Are you CRAZY?!"

"I'm sorry, Snowie," Bubble apologized. "I was playing a prank on Harper Heartstrings. I didn't know the oatmeal was gonna get on YOU!"

Snow Spectrum shook his head. "Whatever. Just watch your aim next time, OK?" Bubble nodded. Snow wiped his hoof through his mane, the same color pattern as his great-grandmother Rainbow Dash, and picked off some of the gooey cereal.

The final pony inside was a light blue pegasus mare with a braided dark blue mane and tail, blue-green eyes and a cutie mark of a singing cardinal. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Esmeralda. You're not mad at me, are you? Please don't be mad at me."

"Calm down, Songbird dear, I'm not mad in the slightest," Esmeralda reassured Fluttershy's equally timid great-granddaughter. "Well, now that you're all here, let's begin on my new line of clothing. Do you know what fashion my great-grandmother helped repopularize all those years ago?" The five others shook their heads. "Taffeta capes. I figured that I could do a similar line of capes, only using silk instead of taffeta."

"B-But, don't you have to kill poor little silkworms to get silk?" Songbird asked.

"Normally, yes, but I plan on using faux silk, so no insects will be harmed in the making of my lovely capes, I assure you."

Blaze smiled as he gathered with his friends to hear more of Esmeralda's ideas for her new line. Each one had a completely different personality, and each perfectly embodied the Element of Harmony that they had inherited from their great-grandmothers; Cider was Honesty, Bubble was Laughter, Songbird was Kindness, Snow was Loyalty, and Esmeralda was Generosity. He couldn't have asked for better friends.

* * *

Celestia sighed as she watched the sky from her balcony, looking in the direction of Ponyville.

"Troubled, sister?" a voice asked. Celestia turned her head to see Luna walking up to her.

The white alicorn nodded. "A bit. I don't know what frightens me more; the fact that Discord is on the loose, or the fact that it's been three weeks since he escaped and he hasn't rearranged one thing."

"That's Discord for you, Tia," Luna chuckled. "He's probably got some grandiose scheme concocted in that twisted brain of his. He's lulling us into a false sense of security, and then...KABOOM! The entire kingdom is flooded with chaos!"

"I'm not sure that's it, Luna," Celestia replied. "It's almost as if he's mourning Twilight and her friends."

"MOURNING them?" Luna snorted. "THAT monster? Please! He'd be more likely to dig up their bones and turn them into peanut brittle than actually MOURN them!"

"You didn't see him when he left here, Luna. He looked absolutely heartbroken."

"Sister dear, I'm fairly certain that to be heartbroken, one must HAVE a heart in the first place." Luna laughed.

"Now Luna, that's hardly a nice thing to say," Celestia scolded her younger sister.

"I'm sorry, Celestia, but it's hard for me to believe that Discord could feel anything outside of egotistical pride and sadistic pleasure," Luna responded. "You know him as well as I do. You know what a cruel beast he is."

Celestia nodded. "Yes, I suppose I do. I shall send a letter to Stellar Blaze and his friends, telling them to keep their eyes open for Discord's shenanigans. Then I'll send it to him tomorrow."

Luna smiled. "A very wise decision, sister." She looked at the clock. "Well, it's time that I start on raising the moon. I'll see you when I get back, Celestia." She nuzzled her older sister's head, then flew off.

Celestia watched her little sister fly off. As she did, the sky began to turn beautiful colors, indicating the start of the sunset. She went into her study and took out a blank scroll, a quill and a bottle of ink. Then, she lay on her belly on a downy pillow and began to write.

**Hmmm, could Luna be right? Could Discord REALLY be planning something horrible? We shall see...(laughs wickedly).**

**So that's the rest of the new Mane Six. I tried to add little quirks about the Mane Six (i.e. AJ and Rarity's "rivalry" as shown in "Look Before You Sleep," Pinkie's prankiness and oatmeal line, Fluttershy's shyness) and have them in their descendants. Hopefully you all like them. **

**Thanks again for reading my stuff, guys! Happy Thanksgiving!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess**


	6. A Letter from Celestia

**Greetings, fellow MLP:FIM freaks! I hope you had as wonderful and gut-busting a Thanksgiving as I did! I know I'm a bit late in posting the new chap, but it took me a while to figure out where I wanted the story to go. Hopefully this was a good path! Read on, MacDuff!**

Discord sighed as he lay on his back in the grass outside of Ponyville. He just looked up at the sky, admiring the beautiful colors as Celestia raised the sun. Had he felt like it, he would have been dotting the sky with fluffy pink clouds made of cotton candy, raining chocolate milk on the little ponies below. But right now his heart wasn't into making chaos.

The draconequus groaned as he sat up. He had been in that position for so long his back was starting to freeze up on him. "Well, there's no use in lying around here like a slug. I should at least go into Ponyville and see what's changed since I've been gone." He started towards the town, then stopped. "Uh-uh. If I go into town like this, I'll stick out like a sore horseshoe." He snapped his fingers, and instantly he changed into a gray unicorn with a messy black and white mane, red eyes and a cutie mark of a golden apple. He admired himself in a nearby puddle. "Perfect." With that, he trotted into town.

* * *

In the library, Spike woke up and yawned. Ever since he started growing, he had moved from sleeping in a basket at the foot of the bed in the main bedroom to sleeping on a hide-a-bed near the kitchen. Not the most comfortable of rooms, but it beat being cramped in a basket.

Suddenly, the young dragon heard a small rumbling sound in his stomach. Figuring it was just hunger making the noise, he started for the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. Then, he heard the rumbling again and felt a lurch, realizing that it was something else entirely. He belched, green flames pouring out of his mouth. Spike rubbed his belly, then gasped when he saw a scroll on the floor. "A message from Princess Celestia? But I thought she stopped sending those through me after Twilight died." He picked up the scroll and opened it, reading the letter. His eyes widened in horror as he read the note. "Oh no!" He ran to the main bedroom, where Blaze was still sleeping. "Blaze! Blaze, wake up! It's an emergency!"

Blaze moaned as he opened his eyes. "What is it, Spike? Is something on fire?"

"No, it's WORSE than that! Princess Celestia sent me a letter! We've gotta gather everypony! Quick!" Spike rushed downstairs and headed for the door. Blaze shook his head, but crawled out of bed and followed his dragon friend.

* * *

Discord wandered through the streets of Ponyville. So much seemed the same since the last time he was there...but at the same time, so much was different. All the same buildings and such were there, but the town was occupied by completely different ponies.

Then, he saw a bunch of young ponies run past him. "What the hay is going on here, Blaze?" Snow asked.

"I don't know, Snow, but Spike said it was an emergency," Blaze responded.

"Well then c'mon, y'all, let's pick up the pace!" Cider urged his friends.

"Oh dear, I hope nothing TOO bad is going on," Songbird fretted.

"Oh don't worry, darling, I'm sure it's nothing TOO heinous," Esmeralda tried to reassure the nervous pegasus.

Bubble seemed to be the only one who noticed Discord. "Oh hiya, mister! You must be new to Ponyville! I'm Bubble Gum. There's lots of cool stuff here in Ponyville!"

"Bubble, we don't have time to roll out the welcome wagon," Blaze told the friendly earth pony.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I gotta go, my friend Spike says there's an emergency, but hey, I'll be back later to show you around, OK?" Discord nodded. "OK, see ya later!" She hopped after her friends.

Discord smiled. This little pony could only be a relative of the late Pinkie Pie. She had the former Element of Laughter's cheery personality and giggly nature. He decided to follow these ponies and see what was going on. He tailed them quietly and waited outside the library where they gathered, peering into a window and listening in on their conversation.

* * *

"OK, Spike, NOW will you tell us what the big emergency is?" Blaze requested.

The dragon nodded. "I just got a letter from Princess Celestia. Discord is back!"

The ponies all gasped in shock, then looked at one another in confusion. "Who's Discord?" Bubble asked finally.

"Discord is the malicious spirit of chaos and disharmony," Spike explained. "Long before Celestia or Luna even existed, he ruled over Equestria, making everypony miserable with non-stop nonsense. Then, the Princesses discovered the Elements of Harmony and used them to turn him to stone. But then, over a hundred years ago, Discord came back and started wreaking havoc on Ponyville, until your great-grandmothers all banded together after being broken up by Discord's tricks and put him back in his stone prison."

"Buck yeah!" Snow cheered. "Our great-grandmas were total BADFLANKS!"

"Yeah, they were. But now Discord's free again, and Princess Celestia has written to me to warn you guys of his trickery. As the current bearers of the Elements of Harmony, it's your job to find Discord and stop him before he floods the entire WORLD in chaos!"

Blaze frowned seriously. "Tell the Princess that she can count on us! Come on, guys, we have to go to Canterlot and get the Elements." With that, the ponies headed out.

* * *

Discord could hardly believe what he was hearing. He hadn't done a darn thing wrong, and Celestia was sending her new little stooges to defeat him anyway? The draconequus felt angrier than he had ever felt in his life. He felt as if a brush fire was burning in his belly. "All right, then, Celestia, if that's how you want it, then that's how you'll get it. I'll wreak chaos harder than ever before. By the time I'm done, nopony will know which way is up or down, and it'll be all your fault!" He disappeared from the street, preparing to do battle.

Just then, Bubble came hopping out, looking for the new gray unicorn to show him around town. "Hello? Hello? Where are you?" She hummed. "Guess he decided to go to another town."

"C'mon, Bubble, we ain't got time for dillydallyin', we gotta go to Canterlot!" Cider told her.

"Okey dokey, smokey!" Bubble hopped after her friends as they galloped to Canterlot.

**So Discord DIDN'T have any evil plans before...but now he does! Boy, nice job breaking it, Luna! Nah, I tease, I love Luna, she's only doing what she thinks is best for Equestria.**

**Obviously I have absolutely no bucking clue how Spike's magic flame-scroll-body thingie works...all I know is, he burps up green flames and a scroll from Celestia appears. Makes sense that it would have SOMETHING to do with the digestive system, right?**

**I hope I did an adequate job of retelling the story Celestia told the Mane Six about Discord's past in the first part of "The Return of Harmony", as well as adding the part about the Six beating him...I agree, Snow, they WERE total badflanks!**

**Thanks for reading, y'all! I hope to update soon!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess. **


	7. Chaotic Confrontation

**Hello, bronies and pegasisters! Sorry about the mondo delay in posting the new chapter...again, it took me a while to actually figure out where I wanted to go from the last chapter, and hopefully I came up with something good. I'll let you guys decide.**

**I own not a darned thing other than my OC's.**

Celestia arrived back at the palace after raising the sun. She walked over to her vanity and started brushing her mane.

"Hello again, Tia."

Celestia yelped and turned to see Discord standing behind her. Rather than his usual sleazy smile, the draconequus had an angry scowl on his face. "We really have to stop meeting like this," the princess sighed. "What brings you back here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to stop by and thank you," Discord replied lazily.

"Thank me? For what?"

"Oh, nothing much, just for SELLING ME OUT TO THE CURRENT ELEMENTS OF HARMONY!" Discord screamed.

Celestia's heart sank. "How...how did you know about the letter I sent to Stellar Blaze?"

"Because I was in Ponyville, right outside the library window, when that stupid little dragon told the ponies about me," Discord responded. "I can't believe this! For the three weeks I've been free, I haven't made one single bucking thing chaotic, and yet you STILL send the Element patrol after me?! What kind of world do we live in when a pony thinks she can get away with that?"

"You were fine with me contacting the Elements when you were first freed," Celestia reminded him.

"Yeah, because I actually had this whole big plan going on," Discord replied. "But then you told me about what happened to Twilight and her friends, and I..."

Celestia gasped. "You DO miss Twilight and her friends, don't you, Discord?"

"No! Yes. Well...maybe a little," Discord began to get flustered, then pulled himself together to become angry again. "That's not the point! The point is, you're sicking the Elements of Harmony on me before I even DO anything! Do you have any idea how messed up that is?!"

"I'm sorry, Discord, but you must understand my side of the situation," Celestia tried to reason with her foe. "As a princess, I must do what I think is best for my subjects. I don't want to see any of them get hurt, not by you or by anypony."

Discord turned away, silent. He stayed that way for a while, thinking over what Celestia had just told him. The white alicorn eyed him oddly, both worried and concerned for him.

Finally, Discord broke his silence. "Well, Celestia, in trying to prevent your precious little ponies from getting hurt, you've hurt ME..." He turned to face her, righteous fury glowing in his eyes. "...and you are going to PAY for that." With that, he snapped his fingers.

Celestia blinked as a white flash surrounded her. When it subsided, she looked into the vanity mirror...and screamed when she saw that her wings and horn were gone. "What...why?"

"Because this way, it's easier to do THIS." The draconequus snapped his fingers again. Celestia tried to run, but her legs were heavy and solid. She shrieked as she saw that she was quickly turning into stone. "You...you said that you don't turn ponies into stone!"

Discord fixed his eyes on the half-petrified princess, an evil grin spread over his face. "For you and your sweet little sister, I think I'll make an exception."

Celestia glared at him. "You wouldn't DARE do this to Luna!"

"Oh, I WOULD...and I HAVE." Discord snapped his fingers, and the now-stone figure of Princess Luna appeared in the room, having been de-winged and de-horned as well, a look of pure fury on her face. "And I must say, little Lulu was quite the fighter. You'd have been PROUD of her, Tia."

Celestia nearly wept to see her younger sister as a stone statue. Her sadness melted into pure anger as she looked back at Discord. "You MONSTER! You despicable, contemptible, vile MONSTER! Once the Elements get here, you'll get yours!" With that, Princess Celestia's face froze in a look of fury matching her sister's, now completely turned to stone.

"Oh, I don't see that happening, Tia," Discord replied confidently, stroking a finger over the petrified Celestia's nose. "Seeing as you and I are the only ones who can open the chamber of Canterlot Tower that holds the Elements of Harmony, and I sure as heck ain't gonna open it for those sickening little ponies, well then I'd say you're plumb out of luck. But just to be one hundred percent sure, it's time I had some face-to-face time with the current Elements of Harmony." With that, he vanished in a white flash, leaving the two stone princesses to stand in the room, unaware of what was going on, unable to prevent anything from happening...

**Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun! **

**OK, before anypony gives me guff about Discord going back on his "I don't turn ponies into stone" spiel from the show, just remember that by this time, Celestia had majorly betrayed him (at least in his eyes) when he had done nothing wrong, and I've noticed from personal experience that when you're angry/hurt enough, you'll go back on even your most cherished personal beliefs...plus it's generally a bad idea to tick off an omnipotent god of chaos with reality-warping powers, even if you ARE a demi-goddess of the sun yourself. **

**Uh-oh, how will Blaze and his pals handle meeting Discord up close and personal? Gotta read to find out!**

**Thank you everypony for being patient with my posting gaps and sticking by me. **

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess.**


	8. Facing the Enemy

**I'm BAAAAACK! Did ya guys miss me?**

**Sorry about the wait, again, I hit some minor writer's block, plus I went back home for winter break, and I just got back to school today. Yeah, I know, excuses, excuses.**

**Anywhos, without further ado, here's the next chapter of The Elements of Harmony: The Next Generation. Hope you all enjoy!**

After some time of traveling, the Ponyville ponies had made their way to Canterlot. However, it was not a Canterlot that they were used to seeing. Pink clouds floated in the now-chartreuse sky, raining down chocolate milk (something that Bubble appreciated every bit as much as her great-grandmother had). Buildings floated as if they were filled with helium. The ground was the color of a checkerboard. And ponies everywhere were acting like they were completely insane.

Cider whistled. "Boy howdy, that Discord feller sure knows how to mess a place up, don't he?"

Blaze nodded. "Just be careful, guys. Spike said that Discord is not only the most dangerous foe the Princesses have ever faced, but he's also completely random. You never know when he'll just appear before you..."

"You mean like now?" a voice asked. The ponies looked up and gasped to see the strangest-looking creature they'd ever seen. He had the head and mane of a pony, the horns of a goat and a deer, the arms of a lion and an eagle, the legs of a dragon and a buffalo, the tail of a snake, and the wings of a pegasus and a bat. He smiled wickedly at them, showing off one incredibly long fang that stuck out amongst the many sharp teeth the creature had.

Blaze was the first to find his voice. "I take it that you're Discord."

Discord smirked. "You take it correctly, Stellar Blaze, great-grandson of Twilight Sparkle and the keeper of the Element of Magic."

Blaze's mouth gaped open. "How...How do you know my name?"

"My dear colt, I know EVERYTHING about you, and about your little friends here."

"Oh yeah? Well then you know what I'm about to do to you," Snow replied. He flew towards the draconequus, getting ready to pound him into the ground, but Discord disappeared before the gray pegasus could make contact. Snow ended up crashing into a nearby tree, which had been turned into a gigantic peppermint stick with gummy spearmint leaves.

"Ah, Snow Spectrum, Element of Loyalty..." Discord chuckled. "You are just as tough and impestuous as your great-grandmother Rainbow Dash, aren't you?"

Snow growled as he tried to pry himself off the sticky tree. "If I weren't stuck to this tree, I'd pummel you for badmouthing my great-grandma!"

"Snowy!" Bubble yelled. She helped yank the pegasus off the tree, then growled. "You meanie! I'll teach YOU to mess with my friend!" She started to charge Discord, but she felt herself lifted off the ground. "Hey! Lemme down!"

"Tut, tut, Bubble Gum," Discord replied. "You don't want to do anything to upset me, now do you? I'd hate to have to harm my favorite Element."

Bubble gasped as she was set down. "I'M your favorite Element?"

"Of course. As I told your great-grandmother Pinkie Pie, I love Laughter."

"You love to laugh at other ponies' misery, you mean," Esmeralda murmered.

"Esmeralda, the keeper of Generosity," Discord recognized her. "Just as lovely as your ancestor Rarity, I must say."

"So ya know who we are, big deal," Cider spat at the beast.

Discord smiled. "And this hayseed must be the keeper of Honesty, Apple Cider. Y'know, Applejack said the exact same thing to me when we met for the first time. Like great-granny like great-grandson, apparently."

Then the draconequus smiled at the light blue pegasus hiding behind Esmeralda, lying flat on her belly, quivering. "And this little cutie must be Fluttershy's descendant Songbird, keeper of the Element of Kindness. Pleased to meet you, sweetie." Songbird shrieked and covered her face with her forehooves.

"It's been great getting to know you, Discord," Blaze spoke up. "but if you'll step aside, we'll be on our way to meet up with Princess Celestia to gather the Elements of Harmony and kick your flank back to Stonybrook Lane." He tried to walk forward, but hit what felt like a wall. "OW!" He tapped the air in front of him, feeling that it was hard as a brick wall. "What the...?"

"Sorry, Blazie, but you're not getting ANYWHERE near the Elements as long as I'M here to stop you," Discord told the young unicorn.

"Yeah, but the Princesses will stop YOU," Bubble replied. "They're the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria!"

Discord gasped, feigning shock. "You're right, Bubble, they ARE the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria..." He grinned maliciously. "...but not the most powerful BEINGS." He snapped his fingers, and the stone forms of Celestia and Luna appeared in front of the ponies. They screamed when they saw how their fearless leaders had be incapacitated.

"No..." Blaze whimpered, starting to tear up. "It can't be. The Princesses...they can't be gone."

"Oh, but they are, Stellar Blaze," Discord responded. "And soon, you'll be gone, too." With that, he snapped his fingers. Immediately, the six ponies began to shrink. Soon, they were no bigger than mice. Also, Snow and Songbird had lost their wings, and Blaze and Esmeralda's horns had vanished. The draconequus scooped up the sextet of ponies in his paws. "Aww, aren't you all ADORABLE? You're so cute, I could just eat you up." With that, he opened his mouth, shoved the ponies in, and swallowed them whole, then belched.

"And now that the Elements are out of the way, I can continue my reign of chaos over all of Equestria!" Discord laughed maniacally, then teleported himself back to the castle to continue making plans on how to conquer Equestria.

**OK, a few things:**

***1. I want to apologize again for my tardiness in posting the new chap. I hope you can all forgive me. I promise that I will try to be more attentive to my story, and may Celestia banish to the moon if I break my promise. **

***2. I just recently learned that the next MLP episode will have Discord coming back...and to say that I am one happy little pegasister would be a MAJOR understatement. I am BEYOND psyched! I just hope they have him be just as awesome as he was in "The Return of Harmony."**

**Uh-oh, looks like Discord has succeeded in getting rid of the Elements of Harmony once and for all...or has he? Gotta read to find out!**

**Thanks for your support, everypony! See you again soon!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess. **


	9. Escape from the Center of Discord

**Well, everypony, I said I'd update my story soon, and I did...well, not as soon as I'd originally hoped, but still, no more gigantic posting gaps! Anyways, here you go!**

"...and why do we need rivers that flow WATER?" Discord asked. "I mean, most of the world is COVERED in the stuff! It'd be more fun if the rivers flowed orange juice."

It was now late afternoon...well, it was hard to tell, since the sun and moon were rising and setting sporadically. Discord was in the throne room of the castle, making plans to spread chaos throughout Equestria.

"...and another thing, why should just pegasi get to fly? I think we should make it so ALL ponies can fly," the draconequus continued. He turned to the stone form of Celestia to his left. "Don't you agree, Tia?" The petrified princess said nothing. "How about YOU, Lulu?" He turned to his right to see the solid rock form of Luna, who also remained silent. "I'm glad to hear that." He snapped his fingers. "And it's done!" He heard the screams as the non-pegasus ponies as they began to float in the air. "Ah, I do so love the sound of chaos in the morning."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside Discord's stomach, the six ponies were reacting to being eaten very differently. Blaze was trying to keep his friends calm. Snow and Cider were kicking the walls of the stomach to make the draconequus vomit them back up. Esmeralda was having a drama queen fit. Songbird had fainted and was just lying there. And Bubble was actually enjoying herself.

"Wow, I've never been inside another animal before!" she was saying. "It's kinda cool, actually!" She went up to a half-digested pile of cotton candy. "Ooh, yum!" She started munching it. "Mmm...sweet, with a slight aftertaste of stomach acid." She continued eating.

"Bubble! That is DISGUSTING!" Esmeralda chastised the pink pony. She started walking up to her to get her to stop, but then stepped into a puddle of greenish goo. "AAAAAAH!" she screamed. "Ew ew ew ew ew ew EW! And I just got a hooficure yesterday!" She fell over, fainted.

Snow rolled his eyes. "GREAT, now we've got TWO unconscious wimps!" He continued kicking at the walls.

"C'mon, guys, chill out," Blaze tried to intervene.

"Chill out? Chill out?!" Cider repeated. "In case ya haven't noticed, Blaze, we're in the belly of our most dangerous enemy! If we just chill out an' not try to escape, we'll be digested before ya can say "Jimmy crack corn an' I don't care!"" He continued kicking. "Take THAT, ya big varmint! An' THAT! An' THAT! An' THIS, too!"

After a few minutes, both Cider and Snow had gotten tired from kicking and had collapsed. "You guys done?" Blaze asked. The two stallions panted and nodded. "Good. Now I've got a plan. Bubble, can you wake Songbird and Esmeralda up?"

"Okey dokey, smokey!" The pink pony hopped up to her friends and shook them both awake.

"Wha? What's going on?" Songbird asked.

"Blaze has a plan," Bubble explained. "C'mon!" The ponies all gathered around their blue-gray friend. "So what's the plan, Blazie?"

"We're going to escape," Blaze replied.

"Uh, how're we gonna do THAT?" Cider asked. "An' ya better not be thinkin' what I THINK you're thinkin', 'cuz I ain't doin' that!"

"What?" Blaze asked. "Ew, no. We're going to escape through the mouth." He pointed upwards. "Up there is the passageway between the stomach and esophagus. We just need to get up there, crawl up the esophagus and out the mouth."

"And how exactly do we do THAT, Mr. Smarty Horseshoes?" Snow asked. "In case you haven't noticed, me and Songbird have been de-winged, so we can't fly up there."

"And you and I can't use telekinesis to get up there, we have no horns," Esmeralda added.

"Simple, we're going to make a pony chain," Blaze replied. He stood right underneath the passageway. "Cider, get on my back." Cider eyed his friend oddly, but obeyed. "Now Snow, you get on Cider's back." Snow climbed onto Cider. "Esme..." Esmeralda climbed up to be on top of Snow. "Now Songbird." Songbird hesitated, but she obeyed. "And last but not least, Bubble." Bubble hopped up the pony chain to the top. "Now Bubble, can you reach the passageway?"

Bubble hopped through the passageway. "Yep!"

"OK, now pull us up!" Blaze commanded. Bubble grasped onto Songbird, who grasped onto Esmeralda, and so on down the chain. Then, Bubble pulled them all up until all six were on the other side of the passageway.

"Way to go, everypony!" Blaze praised his friends.

"Way to go, you!" Snow responded. "You're a bucking GENIUS, Blaze!"

Blaze blushed. "Aww, thanks. Now come on, let's climb!" With that, the ponies started to climb up the draconequus' esophagus, on their way to freedom."

**Wow, Blaze is one clever son of a gun, isn't he? He definitely gets that from his great-grandma Twilight!**

**Obviously, I know nothing about how the digestive system works other than what the various organs are called...and even less about how a draconequus' digestive system would work! Hopefully I did an adequate job of describing the scene, though!**

**I kinda liked the idea of Discord having a board meeting of sorts with the princesses and their guards about what to change in Equestria...only the ponies would all be stone, heh heh! I dunno, maybe it was a dumb idea, what'd you guys think?**

**Thanks for reading! See you all again soon!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess.**


	10. The Final Showdown

**Hey, everypony! Remember a while back, how I said that if I didn't update sooner, Celestia could banish me to the moon? Well, long story short, greetings from the moon! It's actually kinda nice up here...eh, anyways, here's the next chap!**

The ponies continued climbing up through Discord's esophagus to try and get to the mouth. Because Bubble had been the first one out of the stomach, she was leading her friends.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, Bubble?" Blaze asked as he followed the happy pink pony.

"Oh, yeah, trust me," Bubble replied. "I passed advanced anatomy at Ponford University. I know all about where to go!"

"OK..." Blaze replied skeptically. They continued following Bubble until she stopped. "This is it," she spoke up cheerfully. The ponies crawled up to a dark cavern until they hit a dead end. But instead of being inside Discord's mouth, they were in...

"His BRAIN?" Snow practically shrieked, grabbing the pink pony and shaking her vigorously. "You led us to his BRAIN?! What the buck, Bubble? You said that you aced advanced anatomy at Ponford University!"

"No, Snowy, I said that I PASSED advanced anatomy!" Bubble corrected him. "I got a C-minus."

"Wha...how...da...the...gah...AAARGH!" Snow blathered, too angry to form words.

"Chill out, Snow, we can still make it to the mouth," Blaze reassured him. "We just have to find the right nerve, and it'll show us how to get where we want to be." He went up to a nerve and tapped it with his hoof. Immediately a picture of a pair of lungs appeared. "Nope, this is the respiratory nerve. Everypony check for the mouth nerve!"

So the six ponies spread out and tapped different nerves to find the one that would tell them how to get to Discord's mouth. Just then, Cider cried out "Hey, guys, y'all better come see this!"

The remaining five ran over to where the tan pony was standing. "What is it, Cider? Did you find the mouth nerve?" Blaze asked.

"No, but I DID find somethin' ya oughta see," Cider answered. He tapped the nerve he was standing in front of. Within seconds, a picture appeared that made the ponies gasp. The picture was of six young mares, smiling and laughing together. Each of the ponies recognized one of the mares from many portraits and photographs their families kept.

"That...that's my great-grandmother, Twilight Sparkle," Blaze recognized a purple unicorn.

"An' there's my great-granny Applejack," Cider realized who the orange earth pony was. He took off his hat in reverence.

"Ooh, Great-Grammy Pinkie Pie!" Bubble pointed to an earth pony with her same coat color.

"And there's MY great-grandmother Rarity!" Esmeralda noticed the white unicorn. "My, she had such a lovely mane."

"Hey, Great-Grandma Rainbow Dash!" Snow whooped at the light blue pegasus. "Every bit as awesome as my dad says she was!"

"And there's my great-grandmother Fluttershy," Songbird whispered, recognizing the yellow pegasus.

"Why in Equestria would Discord have a nerve showing our great-grandmothers' picture?" Esmeralda asked.

Blaze looked harder at the picture. He noticed how happy their ancestors all looked. Then, he gasped. "I think I know why...he misses them!"

"Huh?" the others asked in unison.

"In case ya haven't noticed, Blaze, Discord was our great-grannies' enemy," Cider reminded his friend. "Why in the hay would he miss 'em?"

"I don't know, Cider, but I'll bet you five bits that it's the truth," Blaze responded. "Now if only we could confirm it..."

"We could ask Discord himself," Bubble suggested.

"And how are we going to do THAT, Bubble Brain?" Snow asked. "We're inside his brain!"

"DUH! We follow the directions to the mouth that the mouth nerve gave me, silly!"

Blaze hurried to the pink pony's side. "You found the mouth nerve?" Bubble nodded and pointed. Blaze smiled when he realized that it was true. "Bubble, that's amazing! How did you find it?"

"It was under **_M_**," Bubble answered in sing-song.

Blaze smiled and shook his head. "OK, here are the directions..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Discord was sitting on a throne that he had constructed, watching over as yet another town fell into chaos. "Now THIS is more like it. Nothing but chaos and disharmony for miles around." He sighed and leaned back in his throne, resting his paws on his chest.

Just then, the draconequus felt a tickle in his throat. He started to cough. "Yeesh, I think I'm coming down with something." He coughed harder, freeing the six ponies. Once they hit the ground, they went back to their normal size.

"You're coming down with something all right, buster," Snow spoke up. "Coming down with a serious case of FLANK WHOOPING!"

Discord looked at the ponies, then just burst out laughing. "Oh, you ponies are just too much."

"He's serious," Blaze replied. "We're going to beat you, Discord!"

The draconequus smirked. "Well, I don't know how you little ponies managed to get out of my stomach, but I DO know that none of you are powerful enough to even have a CHANCE to defeat me!"

"You're right, none of us are powerful enough to beat you by ourselves," Blaze agreed. "But together, we're a lot stronger than you give us credit for...just like our great-grandmothers!"

Discord's smile faded. "Your great-grandmothers?"

"Yes, we were inside your brain, we saw their picture there," Blaze continued. He softened a little. "You really miss them, don't you, Discord?"

The draconequus shifted uncomfortably in his throne. Then, he groaned. "Fine, fine, you got me. I sorta, kinda, maybe miss Twilight and her friends a LITTLE bit." He held up his fingers to show how little.

Blaze elbowed Cider in the ribs. "What'd I tell you?"

"Huh, guess I owe ya five bits," the farmer pony replied.

"Well, now that you know my little secret, go ahead and defeat me," Discord sighed. The ponies looked at him oddly. Normally they'd expect that line to be said with some air of sarcasm, but he sounded completely sincere. "I mean it. Here." He snapped his fingers, and a jeweled box appeared. The box opened, and the Elements of Harmony came out and landed onto each pony. "Take your Elements and turn me back to stone. I surrender."

Blaze looked at his friends. They all nodded. "OK, everypony in position." The ponies formed a line. As they concentrated, the Elements began to glow. As they did, Discord held up his arms in surrender and closed his eyes. He could feel the magic of the Elements washing over his body.

Once the bright lights of the Elements subsided, Blaze and his friends looked over to where Discord was standing and gasped. The draconequus was there, all right, but instead of being a statue as they had expected, he was still flesh and blood. "Huh?"

Discord opened his eyes and looked down at himself, every bit as confused as the ponies. He felt his body with his paws. "What the...?" He snapped his fingers, and an apple appeared in his right paw. "OK, I've still got my magic..." He then jumped into the air, and began levitating as normal. "...and I can still fly. Am I missing something here?"

Just then, everyone heard a scream. They looked to see a unicorn floating in the air, her horn stuck to a tree made of chewed bubble gum. "HELP!"

Discord gasped. "Oh no, that poor unicorn!" Then, he got a better look at all the havoc he had caused and, for the first time, noticed how miserable it was making everypony. "Did...did **I** do all of this?" The six ponies nodded. "Dear Celestia, what have I done?" He snapped his fingers again. Immediately, everything went back to normal all over Equestria.

Blaze blinked. "Did what I THINK just happened, just happen?"

"Eeyup," Cider replied. "Discord undid his own chaos."

"But...why?" Songbird asked quietly.

"Because I never stopped and thought about what I was doing and how it was hurting everypony around me before," Discord answered. "When you're the spirit of chaos and disharmony, spreading chaos and disharmony is all you think about. But now, for some reason, I can actually consider what I'm doing and what the consequences would be." He clutched his paw to his chest and his eagle claw to his stomach. "I...I feel kind of weird inside. I don't know what's wrong."

Blaze smiled. "I do. It's called a conscience, and it looks like the Elements of Harmony did their job after all...they gave the most dangerous and powerful being in Equestria the ability to choose right and wrong."

"Awwww," Bubble cooed.

Snow gagged and stuck out his tongue. "I think I'm gonna throw up."

Discord smiled at the ponies. "Thank you, my friends, for helping me. And here." He snapped his fingers again. In a white flash, Blaze and Esmeralda's horns reappeared, and Snow and Songbird's wings came back.

"YES!" Snow cheered, flying up into the air and darting around. "Oh ho, I MISSED having these babies!"

"I'm sorry for causing you guys so much trouble," Discord apologized.

"It's OK, Dis, you made up for it," Blaze assured him. "Thank Celestia for the Elements." Suddenly, he gasped. "Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! Oh no, they're still in stone! We have to help them!"

Discord held up his paw. "Re-LAX, Blaze. I've got this."

**Me: OK, Princess, I'm really sorry, can I come back to Earth now?**

**Celestia: Wait out your punishment, young lady. Relax, you only have another ten hours of moon time left.**

**Me: Ugh. Fine, I deserve this. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Last chapter will be up soon.**

**Celestia: That's what you said LAST time.**

**Me: Well, THIS time I MEAN it! Meh, see you guys later.**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess.**


	11. The Grand Finale

**Hey, everypony! I'm back from the moon, and I'm ready to finish this story up! Well, here goes, hope you all like it. **

The two princesses stood in their throne room, still in stone, waiting to be rescued. Discord and the bearers of the Elements flashed in together. Once inside, the draconequus snapped his fingers. The ponies watched as the stone began to crack and fall off. Within seconds, Celestia and Luna were back to normal, their wings and horns back in place.

"Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!" Blaze cried out. He bowed along with his friends. "It's so good to see you both back."

Celestia smiled at the great-grandson of her most prized pupil. "It's good to be back, Stellar Blaze."

Just then, Luna screamed. "DISCORD!" She jumped in front of the smaller ponies, shielding them from Discord. "Get back, you beast! You'll have to go through ME before I let you harm these innocents!"

"It's OK, Princess Luna," Blaze reassured the night princess. "Discord is a good guy now. The Elements reformed him."

Luna blinked at Blaze. "They...DID?"

"Indeed they did, Lulu," Discord replied, beeping the dark blue alicorn on the nose, earning himself a turquoise-eyed glare. "Ooh, if looks could kill..."

"Well, I for one am glad that the Elements were able to reform you, Discord," Celestia spoke up, breaking up the tension between her sister and the draconequus. "It will certainly help to have such a powerful ally on our side from now on, should any other dangers occur here in Equestria."

"So I can stay?" Discord asked.

"Yes, you can stay," Celestia confirmed.

"YES!" Discord cheered. He grabbed ahold of Bubble and started to dance with her as she laughed.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea, sister?" Luna asked.

"I do, Luna. Discord's magic is far more powerful than is yours or mine, and having him on our side will assure great protection of our subjects. Besides, should he try to get into any mischief, you and I will be there to handle him."

Luna blinked. "You mean...?"

"Mmm-hmm," Celestia hummed, nodding. "Discord is moving into the palace with us."

"SWEET!" Discord responded, overhearing. "I get to live here in the palace with my two favorite princesses? This is going to be the BEST!" He hugged both alicorns, making Celestia giggle and Luna groan.

* * *

The next day, the princesses held a festival in the grand hall of the palace. The bearers of the Elements and Spike stood beside the princesses, and they all watched as Discord stood before them and bowed.

Celestia tapped Discord's shoulders with her horn, as if she were knighting him. "I hereby give the draconequus Discord the title of Supreme Master of Magic of Equestria. Do you accept this title, and all the responsibilities that go along with it?"

"I do," Discord replied.

"Will you promise to use your powers to serve and protect the ponies of Equestria, from all manners of evil that may try to harm and corrupt them?"

"I will."

Celestia smiled. "Then let us all celebrate the newest member of the Canterlot elite...Sir Discord!" The ponies in the audience all cheered. The Elements all leapt onto Discord in a group hug. Celestia joined in the hug, and after a minute of hesitation Luna did as well. It was the grandest celebration ever held in Equestrian history.

**Yay, happy ending time! **

**Just so you all know, I had the idea of reforming Discord in this story BEFORE the episode "Keep Calm and Flutter On" (which IMO has been the best episode of Season Three thus far...Discord was every bit as awesome and hilarious as he was in "The Return of Harmony," only now he's a good guy, so yeah, he's still my favorite character on the show)...I know it doesn't really matter who had the idea first, just wanted to let you guys know!**

**Methinks Luna is not too thrilled about the prospects of being roomies with Discord...not that I blame her, knowing their background, LOL! Hopefully she can warm up to him!**

**Thank you all for reading my crazy fanfic! Catch you on the flip side!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess.**


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